


Moving Forward Pt. 2-Conclusion

by USWNTPhilly



Category: Women's Soccer RPF
Genre: F/F, USWNT
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-07-03
Updated: 2013-07-03
Packaged: 2017-12-17 14:01:40
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,724
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/868383
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/USWNTPhilly/pseuds/USWNTPhilly
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This is the 2nd and final installment of a story using all original characters based on members with the USWNT. This is a 'first time' story based on a relationship between Liz Davidson, a tall Forward that likes to head the ball and Lexan West, the pretty Forward that likes to wear a pink pre-wrap headband.<br/>It's my first attempt at Fan Fic.<br/>Enjoy.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Moving Forward Pt. 2-Conclusion

Moving Forward Pt. 2- Conclusion  
Chapter 7  
Hermana’s Bar  
The Puppies Miss the Action

Lexan is glad to have skirted Erica so easily. In retrospect, she was pretty freaked out by being corned like that, and ESPECIALLY by her. She circles the dance floor looking for Daylin and Kathey. They are still there. They are still dancing together and getting more than a few appreciative looks by the women in the crowd. She continues to look around the bar and notices that the table in the corner is now vacated. She walks over to where Liz, Mandy and the others were previously seated and has a sudden feeling of dread that they have left for the night…and left her, Daylin and Kathey to fend for themselves. She glances back over to the bar where she last saw Erica and sees that she has only moved down a few places and is busy with her minions. Relieved, she sets out to find Liz. To her surprise, the bar is much bigger than she originally thought. She finds herself in a different room full of televisions all angled at odd directions. There’s a bar but no dance floor in this room and no place to sit other than benches built into the wall covered with carpeting. All the TVs are playing videos from the 1980’s. The sound is down on all of them but the music in this playing definitely 1980s new wave. Depeche Mode’s “Master and Servant” vibrates through the room. Lexan decides she likes this bar better than the one she just left. She continues searching and moves on through a narrow corridor that contains rest rooms on either side. The corridor opens into yet another room. This one is playing slower, sexier music with heavy bass some women are paired on the dance floor. Some are dancing in slow, rhythmic motions. Some are grinding into each other while others are full on making out. With great relief she sees Cord on the dance floor with Cali Reinhart, the team’s starting midfielder. This confirms two things; one she has not been left here to fend for herself and two…Cord and Cali are indeed a couple. They are not kissing but they are not far from it. She averts her eyes, feeling the need to give them privacy. She then sees Mandy dancing with a woman Lexan does not know. They are dancing slow but in a non- intimate way. It’s clear that the woman keeps trying to bring Mandy in closer to her but Mandy resists by stepping back each time the woman creeps forward. Lexan’s eyes continue to scan the crowd until she finds Liz, who has probably been watching her since she arrived in this room. Liz is leaning against the wall. She has her thumb hooked in a belt loop and a bottle of water in the other. She gives an easy smile to Liz and waves her over to where she is standing. Lexan starts to walk when a very strange feeling hits her. She feels dizzy but not in a ‘spinning’ way, it just feels strange and has nothing to contribute it to. She continues walking, assuming the feeling will pass. By the time she gets to Liz, she feels a little more grounded. “Hey” Liz says “You having fun?” Lexan looks around at the crowd “Yeah this place is wild, I had no idea there were other rooms” “Yeah” Liz continues “There’s even more rooms….one is a smoking bar, and I think the other one is a conversation bar…really low music and no dancing, just people talking” Lexan looks up at Liz “So Liz…you want to dance?” She can’t believe she said it. Maybe the alcohol was making her brave. Liz looks down at her and pauses before saying “okay”. Lexan actually takes Liz by the hand and walks her over to the dance floor. Liz is pleasantly surprised by Lexan’s forwardness and allows herself to be led to the dance floor. “You told me that you were going to ask me to dance sometime…I figured this was as good a time as any” Lexan says “This is true….this is true” Liz smiles down at her. ‘She is so beautiful’ Liz thinks. ‘I really gotta keep myself in check here’. She keeps some distance between them. Liz worries about how this might look to other team members. After all, she and Lexan are just friends….just two teammates dancing. ‘She a good dancer’ Liz thinks. Lexan’s deeply cut black tank top provides a view of her black lace bra and Liz reminds herself that she doesn’t need to look there again, not if she doesn’t want things to heat up. Liz takes a moment to think about the bra SHE is wearing…yep, a sports bra as usual….nothing seductive there. At first they are like kids at a Catholic High School gym dance. Hardly making eye contact and maintaining room for the ‘holy ghost’ between them. Liz thinks about why she originally wanted to ask Lexan to dance….’What the fuck, you only live once’ She places her hand in the small of Lexan’s back and brings her in closer to her. Liz sees the surprise on Lexan’s face, but the face does not show displeasure, just the opposite. Liz says “This is good Lex….this is going to change things for us, I promise” Lexan smiles and moves closer into Liz’s arms. Liz wraps her other arm around Lexan. “Close your eyes Lex and relax” Liz whispers in her ear. Lexan feels the words hit her ear, and the nearness of Liz’s lips causes an utter drop in her stomach. She moves her hips closer to Liz’s body. She closes her eyes. The music is very sexy and Lexan allows Liz to control their movements. Liz whispers again in Lexan’s ear and says “keep your eyes closed and keep tight to me” Lexan feels a shutter that reaches down to between her legs and actually pulls Liz closer to her. Liz isn’t sure, but she thinks she hears Lexan groan, Liz smiles “Very good Lex….very good.” They dance like this for a while. Liz slowly changes their direction, turning Lexan and swaying with her. They move in unison. Liz whispers again, but she moves her lips to the side of Lexan’s face, so lightly that only the fine hairs on her face and neck can feel her. “Feel how we move? We are one.” She continues “ You already know what my next move is” Lexan is lost in the moment, she looks up into Liz’s blue eyes and want so much for Liz to kiss her. Yet…something isn’t quite right with her vision, Liz’s eyes look strange and disjointed, and the dizzy feeling is back. She pushes it aside and grinds herself into Liz; she grabs handfuls of Liz’s clothing and tries to get closer to her, tries to get inside of her. Liz puts her hands on either side of Lexan’s face “Lex?” Lexan slows her movement and lifts her eyes up to look into Liz. “Lex, take a step back for a minute” Lexan does “A couple things just happened. I want to tell you that I have not been this turned on in a long time……but that’s not why I wanted us to dance. What we just did…Is what we are going to start doing on the field. You and I are going to move as one. You are going to predict where I’m going and I’m going to do the same with for you. We are NEVER going to play like we did tonight ever again….you understand?” Lexan is confused. ‘This was a soccer lesson?’ she thinks. She says to Liz “THAT was a freaking SOCCER lesson?!!” She pushes Liz away and turns from her when the room aggressively starts to spin. Her body temperature feels like she’s going to explode and it’s not from being mad at Liz or really embarrassed. She turns back to Liz. ”Liz, I don’t feel good right now” Liz senses that something is very wrong with her friend and moves to her, placing her hand under her elbow “What’s wrong?” she asks. Lexan feels like she can’t get the words out, her tongue feels swollen and too big in her mouth. She manages to say “Like my head is spinning, and the lights look weird and my body feels really heavy…I….I’m going to go to the bathroom” Liz doesn’t know what do to “Do you want me to come with you?” Lex is already gone. Liz watches her leave and takes a deep breath, running her hands through her hair. She can feel the wetness between her own legs and realized she enjoyed her ‘lesson’ more than she should have. Maya Rand had used the same lesson on her years ago, albeit in a much less sexual way. It changed their field chemistry. But Liz fears she really blew it. She got carried away. She should not have taken the chance with someone she was attracted to. She didn’t expect Lexan to enjoy it as much as she did. Liz needed to figure out how to clean this mess up but still get the chemistry going. With Maya, it was like a switch and been flipped. Before they couldn’t get connected on plays….after the dance lesson…..BINGO, they were serving balls into areas on the field, simply because they KNEW the other one would be there. It was wonderful. She wondered if she should go after Lexan.  
By the time Lexan enters the corridor where the bathrooms are her body feels a thousand pounds. As she goes to push the outer door of the bathroom open, Erica Deracho just happens to be in the corridor. Lexan is actually glad to see her. “Erica, something’s wrong…I don’t feel good” Erica feigns concern “Oh my god, let me help you…and she places and arm around Lexan and guides her into the bathroom. When the outer door shuts one of Erica’s minions locks it from the inside. Another minion stands guard outside the room to tell patrons that the bathroom is ‘out of order’. Erica and Lexan clear the inner door and Lexan’s full weight falls and she slips out of Erica’s arms. Lexan is on the floor. “Erica, go find Liz! She’s in the bar on the left” Lexan is barely able to get the words out. Her lips feel swollen. Erica responds “What? Am I a dog? You want me to go fetch that Liz BITCH for you? I’m not going to do SHIT, little girl!” Lexan is confused “I don’t understand….HELP me….I can’t move my legs” Erica leans down very close to Lexan’s face “I know you can’t move, who do you think put the drug in your drink?” Erica tips her head back and laughs “This was TOO easy!” Lexan starts to panic….she tries to get up and can’t…she starts to crawl toward the back wall. “Where the fuck do you think YOU are you going?” Erica grabs Lexan by her shoes and pulls her hard along the floor back toward her, flips her onto her back and straddles her” Lexan starts to cry and starts yelling for help “Shut up you little bitch” Erica slaps her face “Why are you doing this?” Lex whimpers “I’m not doing this to you….I’m doing this to Liz…I saw you dancing with her you little whore”  
Liz is pacing. She can’t wait another minute. Her long legs get her to the bathroom corridor in a few strides. A woman is standing in front of the bathroom door. “Excuse me” Liz says curtly and tries to push past. The woman stands firm “Its closed, use the other one”….at that, Liz hears a scream from inside the bathroom. It happened, lightning fast. She pushed the woman out of the way and twisted the knob. It was locked. The woman regained her balance and grabbed at Liz. Liz put her long leg up on the woman’s hip and shoved her so hard she literally left the bathroom corridor. “LET ME THE FUCK IN!!” She yells. When no one responds she throws her shoulder once, twice, three……FOUR times, the door gives way. She takes the minion stationed inside the door by the collar and throws her out the door. She bust through the inner door and is met with a hysterical Lexan on the floor and Erica on top of her. Liz grabs Erica by the back of her shirt and pulls her with such force that when Erica hits the back wall and falls on her ass, her feet never even graze the floor. Liz kneels at Lexan’s side. Liz is in such a state that Lexan’s says to her….”I’m okay Liz…..I’m okay”. Liz’s rage is boiling, her fear that Lexan was hurt….or even….’oh god’ she thinks. Liz takes a quick, deep breath and exhales; she leans down, places her hand on Lexan’s face and lightly kisses her forehead before standing to her full height and turning her attention to Erica. Erica is on her butt and at seeing the fury in Liz’s eyes, doesn’t move. She may have injured her tailbone, she is in pain. Liz is now towering over her… she reaches down and grabs two fists full of shirt and lifts Erica up off her butt and walks her right up the wall. Liz has her at least a foot off the ground. “I am going to fucking kill you Erica…..why…WHY did you do this to her?!” BANG… Mandy, Cord and Emily bust though the door. Emily slides to her knees and tends to Lexan who is now sitting up. Mandy gently approaches Liz. She’s seen Liz like this. In fact she has seen a situation very similar to this between Liz, Sandra and Erica a couple years ago. Erica likes to hurt the people Liz loves. “Easy Liz…honey…put her down Liz…that’s right” Liz slowly lowers Erica to the floor, her eyes never leaving Erica’s eyes. Liz drops her voice to a low growl. “If you ever….EVER lay a hand on her or ANY of my friends again….I will bust you in a million pieces” Liz loosens her grip on the fabric and turns her back on Erica. Erica does not move. “Erica…get the fuck out of here” Mandy says. Both of the minions have re-appeared in the doorway. “Come on Erica…..let’s go” Erica peels herself off the wall and crosses the bathroom. Liz’s eyes never leaving her. Then she’s gone. Liz moves over to Lexan and asks “How do you feel?” Cord adds “She was drugged Liz….the bartender told me and Lexan confirmed it. Erica drugged her” Lexan says “What if they test me?” Liz says “Let’s not worry about that now….did she hurt you?” Lexan takes a quick inventory “No…she slapped me but you got here before she had a chance to…I” she starts to cry “….I don’t know what she would have done if you didn’t get here” Liz gets down on her knees and pulls her into a gentle hug. “I was really scared when I heard you scream” Liz breathes in the scent of her hair and a feint hint of perfume. Liz pulls away and asks “Can you walk?” Lexan reaches out her hands for help. She can’t seem to use her legs correctly and starts to fall back down. “I don’t think so Liz, my legs aren’t working” panic raising back into her voice “Is this permanent…..will this wear off?” Cord says, “Yeah, she gave you GHB, it will wear off in a couple hours and it doesn’t show up in urine unless they test you within 12 hours. “ Mandy chimes in with a raised eyebrow “Well hello, ‘little Miss Physician’s Desk reference’….how do you know all this Cord?” Cord smiled “I Googled it just a couple of minutes ago. I figured for us athletes, that’s pretty important” Liz interrupts “Well then I’m carrying you…welcome to the Davidson Taxi company” and she hoists Lexan up into her arms. Lexan says “This is embarrassing…what if someone takes pictures?” Emily says “We’ll swear you twisted your ankle dancing” The group leaves the bathroom and heads toward the exit. Lexan can feel the muscles of Liz’s arms holding her. She feels safe. They move so quickly that few take notice. Daylin and Kathey catch sight of the group and catch up quickly. “Dude…what happened?” Daylin asks “Long story” Mandy says “You spend all night on the dance floor you’re going to miss some action”  
Chapter 8  
The Aftermath  
By the time they arrive back at the hotel and pay the cab driver Lexan can stand on wobbly legs. She’s already feeling better, just the fact that the drug is wearing off is a huge weight off her shoulders. The whole group walks Liz and Lexan back to their room. They stay for another 30 minutes just to make sure that Lexan is okay and then bid their goodnights. With a soft ‘click’ Liz closes the door. She stays at the door for a moment, her back to Lexan. She knows there is a lot to talk about but is exhausted. She feels responsible for everything. The dancing that got out of hand and Erica who doesn’t even KNOW Lexan only did this to hurt her. Liz had vowed after Erica to never get involved with someone unless she knew they are emotionally balanced. Erica is a nightmare that keeps coming back to haunt her. Maybe this will be the end. Maybe…FINALLY Erica has done enough damage….hurt me enough. She turned from the door. Lexan has changed in to her sleep ware and is lying on top of her bed. Liz doesn’t know what to say. “Lex, I don’t know what to say” she finally admits. “I know we have a lot of stuff we need to talk about but I think we should try to get some sleep” Lexan avoids Liz’s eyes ‘Oh god…..she hates me’ Liz thinks 'I have destroyed our friendship and fucked up our team’ Liz crosses the room and sits on her own bed, she puts her head in her hands. “Liz?” Lexan finally looks at her and asks “Um…would you mind sleeping with me tonight?” Liz tries to read her intention “Nothing sexual…I…just don’t want to be alone tonight” Lexan’s eyes find the wall again. Liz lets out a deep breath of relief and says "of course"  
Liz strips off her clothes. Lexan watches her from the bed. Lexan notices the sports bra and smiles. Liz was not the type of woman Lexan expected to find herself attracted to. Lexan has had girl crushes before. She was practically in love with a girl that was a couple years older than her in high school. She followed her around in the halls and even adopted the girl’s jersey number after she graduated. It was all pretty innocent, the older girl had no idea of Lexan’s feelings and neither did Lexan’s boyfriend at the time. She has continued to date men all through college and has never acted on any of her girl crushes….tonight was the closest she has ever come. She has kissed girls before but those were all drunken situations filled with giggles and beer. If Liz had kissed her tonight it would have been the first time she has ever been really ‘present’ for a kiss from a girl. She pushed the thought aside as Liz turns down the covers and slides in next to her. Lexan clicks off the light on the side table and sends the room into darkness. The room is silent except for the small sound machine offering white noise in the corner of the room. Liz travels with it wherever she goes. They are both exhausted but also very aware of each other’s presence in the bed. Lexan wonders if this arrangement will actually make it easier to sleep or just keep her wide away with anticipation. The familiar feeling of butterflies has returned. Liz senses the awkwardness of the situation and offers “Snuggle?” Lexan is relieved “Yes….I’d like that”. She moves closer to Liz and turns toward her. She finds her head nestled gently on Liz’s shoulder. They fit together so well, and a muscular as Liz is, she feels very soft and warm right now. The smell of her and her nearness is distracting but it doesn’t keep Lexan from falling into a deep sleep.

Liz is sitting up in bed, driven from sleep by the sounds coming from Lexan. She is crying and whimpering, no doubt having a bad dream. Liz doesn’t really know what to do…should she wake her? She senses that Lexan’s dream is growing worse because her body is starting to move and the noises are growing in volume. Liz starts to slowly stroke Lexan’s face. “Lex…wake up” She slides down beside her and puts her arms around her “Lexan”. Lexan starts to move less, “Lex?” Lexan wakes up with a deep breath, her eyes are wide and she pushes Liz off of her. “Oh my god” Lexan says. She pushes the covers off and sits up. She is trying to catch her breath and remember where she is. “Lex” Liz says sitting up beside her, she reaches over and runs her hand down Lexan’s back, slowly making circles, trying to calm her down. Lexan falls back on her pillow “Oh my God, Liz….I was having the worst dream” Liz says quietly….”Yeah I know, is there anything I can do?” Lexan is still breathing heavy and turns to Liz “No….I’m just glad you are here” She smiles at Liz “Erica was chasing me with a knife, and you showed up and she stabbed you”. Lexan’s voice trails off at the end. She turns her face from Liz she can’t see how much this has really upset her, she starts to cry. Liz slides in closer and puts her strong arms around Lexan “Shhhh, it’s just a dream….I’m right here….and thankfully, Erica is not” She offers Lexan a crooked smile. This makes Lexan smile too. Lexan turns into Liz and hugs her. When they release Lexan doesn’t move away. Instead she looks into Liz’s eyes; she takes her hand and lightly touches her face. She takes her thumb and traces Liz’s eyebrow, taking in this woman’s face. There are scars and she lightly touches them. She allows her hand to move behind Liz’s head, to the back of her neck, she urges it forward. The kiss is soft and gentle. A discovery of something they have both been longing to feel. Liz pulls away and looks into Lexan’s eyes. Liz says in a whisper, “You have any idea of how beautiful you are?” Lexan offers a small smile in return. Liz wants to do this right, she is pretty sure that Lexan has never been with a women before and wants to be gentle, not letting the fire she feels take control of her. Liz pulls Lexan closer; they are both on their sides facing each other. She kisses her again, still gently but with an increasing intensity. Lexan opens her mouth wide and welcomes Liz’s tongue fully into her mouth. It tastes slightly sweet with the faint hint of mint. Liz rolls on her back and pulls Lexan on top of her. Their kisses deepen and Lexan’s body is starting to respond to Liz’s touches. Lexan stops briefly to remove her top, she returns to kissing Liz while putting her hands to the task of getting underneath Liz’s top. Liz pushes Lexan up while she removes her own shirt. Lexan’s heart is pounding, she is doing something she has never done before yet has absolutely no fear in this moment. Liz tosses her top off the bed and pushes Lexan back down on the bed and crawls on top of her. She resumes kissing her and uses her knee to push Lexan’s legs apart. Their breathing is growing heavy and their hands are moving more quickly, trying to locate areas of exposed skin to explore. Liz suddenly stops and pulls her lips from Lexan’s. Lexan looks at her confused. “Take your bottoms off” Liz demands. Lexan does and Liz takes hers off as well. Liz moves slightly away from Lexan, there is enough light coming through the hotel window to see the length of her naked body. Liz takes in the full vision and then moves to Lexan’s stomach. She places her palm on the flat of Lexan’s abdomen. It’s so muscular and perfect. Liz moves her palm along Lexan’s stomach, then using her fingers to trace gentle circles along it. This draws a pleased noise from Lexan who looks down at Liz with a grin “THAT is nice” Liz runs the back of her hand up along Lexan’s side, such a light touch that it’s impossible to believe that someone as strong as Liz, could be so gentle. Lexan wants more; she wants Liz’s lips on her body. She can tell that Liz is moving slowly but it’s making her crazy. Liz’s hand finally reaches Lexan’s breast. Her touch is light, she traces around the nipple and just as Lexan is about to protest, wanting more, Liz moves her body back into Lexan and places her lips on Lexan’s breast. The feeling is spectacular. She arches her back into it. Lexan has the thought that this makes complete sense. A woman would know exactly how to make other women feel this way. Liz’s tongue traces all the right places and goose bumps rise all along Lexan’s flesh. Liz moves from Lexan’s breast and back up to her mouth and their kiss is deepest yet. Both of their bodies start to respond to the need of the moment. Lexan opens her legs to Liz and they start to grind into each other. Liz wants to take it much farther than this; she wants to taste Lexan fully. She wants to wake up with the smell of her on her lips…but this is as far as she will take her tonight. Liz shifts off of Lexan who offers a protesting moan, and slides her hand down over Lexan’s breast, over her abdomen and down in between Lexan’s legs. It is very wet, and this pleases Liz. Liz softly moves her fingers while recapturing Lexan’s lips. They kiss and Lexan opens her legs wide, inviting Liz in. When Liz enters Lexan with two fingers at first Lexan groans. “Oh God Liz”. “That’s okay?” Liz asks in a whisper her, tracing her lips along Lexan’s neck, her tongue finding the fine hairs at the nape of her neck. “Yes….It’s great” Lexan mumbles and laughs. Liz never removes her fingers from Lexan while turning on her back and pulling Lexan on top of her. She uses her strength to sit them both up and now Lexan is sitting on her lap. Liz’s fingers deep inside her. Lexan wraps her legs around Liz’s waist as if they’re celebrating a goal, they continue to kiss and move together and Lexan is getting very close to the edge. Her breath is catching and she is moving up and down on Liz’s fingers with more force and it’s growing faster. Liz makes sure she prepared for Lexan’s orgasm; she braces herself but doesn’t change a thing. Liz herself has been on the verge of letting lose several times on the last 30 minutes or so but has backed off…not wanting to climax without her. Lexan is almost there….there’s noises coming from her that can only indicate the nearness of the moment. Liz allows herself the freedom to reach the edge and together in a continued rhythmic movement they climax together. Lexan throws her head back but no scream comes….instead, together the provide groans, breaths, shutters and shakes and finally…..soft knowing laughs. Liz rolls Lexan off her and gently places her down on her back. Liz climbs on top of her and continues to move against her slowly. They look into each other’s eyes and smile. They manage to make each other orgasm several more times before deciding to separate. They fall asleep in a tangle.

Chapter 9  
The Clean Up and the World Cup  
The next morning little is spoken about the previous night. Both Lexan and Liz untangle themselves and offer each other a knowing smile. Today is a travel day and they need to get busy with packing and showers before the 10am team meeting and breakfast.  
Lexan climbs into the shower. She is a jumble of mixed emotions. She doesn’t regret what happened with Liz but she didn’t take into consideration what happens now. She doesn’t consider herself gay and though her parents are pretty liberal she wasn’t sure she wanted to upend her family with knowledge that their daughter was dating another woman. This could potentially create a mess. She and Liz are on the same team with huge responsibilities. Liz is one of the most powerful strikers in the world and quite possible the most important member of her team. They are heading into a World Cup and if this ends badly it could fuck everything up. She squeezes body wash into her palm. She really enjoyed last night. She has never had an orgasm like that with anyone else before. She washes herself and then takes the razor off the edge of the tub. She hadn’t even had time to think about how messed up the thing with Erica was. ‘What happened between Erica, Liz and Liz’s friend Sandra?’ she thinks. She decides that if the time feels right, she will ask Liz about it. She rinses off her first leg and starts on the other.  
Liz is sitting on the edge of her bed. Since Lexan went into the bathroom she has not moved. She feels that she has had a steady flow of fuck-ups that are spiraling out of her control. The dancing was a mistake, not leaving the bar….the minute Erica walked in, and making love to Lexan…all mistakes. ‘What the heck was I thinking?’ Again, she finds her head in her hands. This has to stop right now. ‘I’m not going to turn this ‘thing’ that happened into another mess.’ She thinks, ‘I have a responsibility to my team and my country to not screw up this World Cup’ She wished she could talk to Sandra. She wished she could talk to her sister. She just needed to get all of this off her chest so she could go back to concentrating on what’s important.  
The shower is turned off. Lexan towels herself dry and walks back into the main room with a towel around her. She sees Liz sitting on the side of the bed and takes a place facing her on the opposite bed. “What’s up?” She asks, water still running down from her long hair. She has a second towel that she’s using to dry the ends of her hair. Liz decides to come clean “I’m scared Lex.” Lexan did not expect this response, she says “Scared of what?” Liz pauses to form her thoughts “I thought last night with you was wonderful. But I also think exposing you to Erica was one of the worst things I’ve ever done in my life. She could have killed you….or maimed you. I’m also freaked out that what just happened is going to fuck up our team and that it’s all my fault” Lexan lets this sink in before saying “I was the one who asked you to sleep with me. I was the one who kissed you…I own a lot of what happened last night” Liz listens intently. Lexan continues “But I won’t deny that I didn’t think all this through. I’m not gay…at least I don’t think so.” She reaches over to take Liz’s hand “But last night was the best sex I have EVER, EVER had in my whole life…make no mistake about that” This brings a smile to Liz’s face, who adds “It was pretty good wasn’t it?” Lexan laughs “It was fucking phenomenal! But I don’t think I can take this any further than this.” That sobers Liz up. Lexan asks “Are you going to be okay with that? Liz nods “Yeah…I don’t think we have any other choice. We have a huge job ahead of us with the World Cup and I think we need to keep our heads about us…..and I have to be honest, Lex…I never thought you were gay OR even wanted to be….AND I need to figure out my relationship with Sandra because she is the one I think I’m meant to be with.” Liz pauses, and continues “I just don’t think I realized it until this moment.” Lexan cautiously asks “Can I ask what happened between you, Erica and Sandra?” Liz considers this before continuing “I was dating Sandra” Lexan interrupts “Just to be clear, we’re talking about Sandra Hoffman, right?” Liz continues “Right…this was when she was also on the National Team and things were just beginning to get good for us. Maya helped me grow up in a lot of ways you know?” Lexan nods “Any way….I screwed things up. She ended it with me and I was devastated. That’s when Erica enters the picture. She was playing professional football in the states. She’s very American actually, went to college on the East coast” Lexan adds “Yeah, I noticed she doesn’t have any accent or anything” Liz nods at her and continues “Long story short, I’m rooming with Mandy during a tour of friendlies and I know her girlfriend is in town, so I assume I have the room to myself. Erica shows up in town and ends up in my bed. When… who walks through the door but Mandy AND Sandra. I guess they had been out to dinner with Mandy’s girlfriend and Mandy needed something from her bag.” Liz stops to look in Lexan’s face “Lex it was so bad. The look on Sandra’s face was heartbreaking….she was horrified. And me…..lying in bed with that fucking crazy bitch….and all I wanted was to get Sandra back. She didn’t talk to me for a week.” Lexan asks “So why are things with you and Erica so bad? Why does she hate you so much?” Liz says “Because the minute Mandy and Sandra left, I told her to get her fucking things and get out of my room, and that I didn’t ever want to see her again. I treated her shitty Lex. I was so mad at myself that I took it out on Erica. I actually kicked her out of my room while she only had her bra and panties back on. I opened the door and pushed her out, half naked….threw the rest of her clothes and her purse out into the hall and locked the door” Lexan’s jaw has dropped some “God Liz….that was really mean” Liz looks at the floor “I know. Erica has the right to hate me…I…just freaked out. I kind of hoped she would be over it by now” Lexan adds “Apparently not” Liz looks up at her and sees she has a little smile on her face. “No…apparently not” and Liz lets out a small laugh. Liz continues “After I shoved Erica in the hall, I got on my cell to call Sandra. She didn’t pick up. It went to voicemail like….6 times before I threw my phone against the wall and broke it into pieces.” Lexan gets up and sits down next to Liz. “Liz, look at me” Liz turns to face her. “Elizabeth Mary Davidson…YOU are an amazing woman and the heart of this team. There is not a person in this hotel who hasn’t made mistakes…me included, though last night was NOT one of them” she smiles at Liz and continues “You can clean this up. I’m okay. I don’t feel a thing after being drugged and quite honesty, I’m not sure I’ve felt THIS good in a long time” Liz laughs. Lexan continues “I’m serious Liz. We are going to be okay. We’re going to finish packing and go down to the meeting, and then we are going to show the rest of the world that your little ‘dance lesson’ has paid off.” Again Liz smiles and takes Lexan’s hand turns it over and places a light kiss on the upturned palm. “Thanks Lex.”

Lexan is right of course. The United States heads into the Quarter finals against Brazil. The world will come to see this match as quite possibly the best and most exciting match to ever be played in ‘the beautiful game’. The goal in the waning seconds to bring about penalty kicks to determine the winner. Despite some very questionable calls by the referee, the USA comes out on top. This single match will bring the well-deserved spotlight back on Women’s soccer in America.  
The United States defeats France in the semifinals and makes it to the final match. They are going to play Japan for the World Cup.  
Again….the match is determined by penalty kicks.  
The United States loses. They……lost. The world will see photos of the elated Japanese National team and the faces of the devastated Americans. There will be tears shed and faces crunched up in ruin while medals and awards are given. They are numb with the loss; there are no words to express their pain.  
Liz receives the ‘Silver Ball’ and the ‘Bronze Boot’ awards, but there are no smiles in the pictures that are taken that day.  
Liz hugs some of her teammates and coaches and smiles while waving to the fans but she does not cry. Liz only cries in public when she feels joy. She sees Lexan off to one side and approaches her. “We got so close” She folds into Lexan’s arms. Lexan whispers in her ear, “We will get them next time Liz….we will see them again in four years” She lets go of Liz and places a hand on her cheek. Liz smiles and heads to the side of the pitch. Her eyes are in the crowd, trying to find her family. She had seen them once before the game but with the flashbulbs popping it’s hard to see them. She finally catches a glimpse of her mom….and yes…..there’s her older sister. She wishes she could have won this for her. Then her eyes fall on the person her sister has an arm around. She wished the flashbulbs would quit making it hard to see. The person pulls away from Liz’s sister and starts walking down the stairs. It’s Sandra. Liz can’t believe her eyes. She’s really there….and she’s walking toward her. Liz reaches the railing and asks the security guard if she can get closer, he moves. Liz climbs up the railing and is now face to face with Sandra. “How did you get here?” Liz is now crying a little. Sandra has a biggest smile “I just figured you might need me.” Liz pulls her into a hug. The security guard actually has his hands on the small of Liz’s back keeping her steady while she places both arms around Sandra. Liz says in her ear “You have no idea how right you are.” She pulls back and smiles at her.  
Lexan watches Liz climb the railing to Sandra. She is actually crying tears of joy at watching this happen. She wipes her eyes and looks around just in time to catch Daylin sidle up long one side of her, and Kathey is now on the other. “Let’s get back to the others” she says, and they join the rest of the team.

The end.


End file.
